Page 31 of Vandal Unbound

I encourage Elsie to walk the steps ahead of me, but as we approach the door with the loud music playing, we drop back on the steps.

“It might be a bit loud for Elsie,” I say.

Elsie groans and tugs at my hand enthusiastically. “No, Momma. Ireallywant to go inside.”

Maren nods and grabs her phone. She smiles when whoever she’s calling answers. “No, everything’s fine. I’m outside on the stairs, but we have a little visitor with little ears. Can you turn the volume down for us? See you in a minute.”

Within five seconds, I hear a grumbled shout, and then the volume drops by half.

Maren looks at Elsie. “It pays to know the boss,” she says with a wink.

Knox appears at the top of the steps and grabs Maren before kissing her with such intimacy that I cover Elsie’s eyes. His hand slides to her ass, and there was more tongue than Elsie needs to see.

“Fucking love you in my cut, sweetheart,” he says when they finally pull apart.

Elsie chuckles, and it’s enough of a sound for Knox to realize that the two of us are standing there.

“Daisy,” he says. “You need something?”

“We’re here to see Vandal,” I say, trying to project confidence I am totally not feeling. Watching the way Knox greeted Maren has made me feel all kinds of things. I’m not sure I’ve ever been kissed the way he just kissed her, like he couldn’t get enough of her, that he was so very happy to see her. That he was proud of her.

What must it feel like to be greeted so passionately by a man like that? Flashes of Vandal greeting me that way flood my mind, and heat immediately climbs my cheeks. My brain dismisses the idea, even as my insides tighten at the delicious thought.

Which clearly shows I need to pay my brain a little more respect and observe all the red flags it’s waving.

Knox glances back through the door. “Sunny,” he yells. “Take that to your room. Same with you, Lock. Minor coming through.”

I don’t want to think about what they could be possibly doing that would require an instruction to stop it.

Drugs, maybe. Sex?

I pull Elsie down one step closer to me so she doesn’t make a run for it and see something she shouldn’t.

The whole time Knox is looking over his shoulder, watching whatever is going on inside wrap up, he’s also rubbing Maren’s arm.

“Okay,” he says, finally. “You can go in.”

“Come on,” Maren encourages. “I’ll show you around.”

Knox holds her tenderly by the throat and drags her lips to his for another kiss. “Don’t be long.”

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to realize what that means.

And it’s only when we step inside that I realize we’ve entered another world.

10

VANDAL

The shower is ice-cold, but I don’t have time for the water to warm up. And I’m brushing my teeth while trying to smear shampoo on my head at the same time.

Because I’m pretty sure that the last thing Daisy and Elsie need is to see me drunk and just a little bit high again. And I’m mad. Because I tried to do the whole quitting thing yesterday. I lasted four torturous hours before I convinced myself that one more wouldn’t matter.

But of course, one became two, and two became three, and before I knew it, it was this morning and I was hungover.

The red eyes, I can’t do anything about, but at least my body is clean enough.

“I’ve put an outfit on the bed,” Havoc says, sticking his head in the bathroom. “Might save you thirty seconds in getting out there.”